Work Text:
The morning light filtered through the sheer curtains, hitting the carpeted floor in a way that the lifted specks of dust seemed, for a moment, like glitter or some other variant. With the sun, something else awoke, or better, someone else. The soft cries of the small baby seemed to get more and more pained, as if he felt abandoned and not in any real peril of any kind. Severus opened one eye at those sounds, turning to stare at the ceiling while he listed off the possibilities for Teddy’s cries.
The man sighed deeply, passing his right hand over his face before pushing himself into sitting, swinging his legs to the side and trying to gather up the courage that it took for him to stand up so early in the morning after spending hours tending to the man at his side. Remus had fallen asleep as soon as Severus had finished giving him a pain potion, and he didn’t show any sign of being awake any time soon.
Severus walked as quietly as he could, skinny feet barely making noise on the hardwood floor. The baby was sitting in his cot, face red and streaked with tears from his cries as he stared at Severus, almost instantly stopping when he noticed someone was coming. Teddy still hiccuped, even as Severus lowered and hooked his right arm under the babe’s and around his back, lifting him with a small puff of air.
At the hospital, during his rehabilitation, learning how to do that in a way that he was sure didn’t hurt Teddy, or dislocated one of his shoulders, had been one of the hardest things to learn, the rest had been mild by comparison since he didn’t have fear, only mild annoyance at his resistant left arm and hand.
Severus leaned to the left to place the babe on his hip before quickly shifting his arm to pick him up under his butt, making a face when Teddy passed his snotty nose on his shirt and right after leaned his little head on the man’s shoulder. He could almost forgive Teddy for the snot as he looked down at the babe’s little face, hearing his soft coo before walking out of the bedroom and towards the small nursery they had put together barely a week after moving in.
After that, it was the simple affair of changing Teddy on the highest table. Usually, the task fell onto Remus when he felt well enough, that’s what the twin lower table right to the side was for but, every time before and after the full moon, it was Severus who had the task. He placed his left elbow on the table to give as much leverage to his hand as it could, changing Teddy as quickly as possible and signing to the babe when he was finished:
”I think that’s a new record,” Teddy gargled as he watched the nimble hand moving, not resisting when Severus held both of his wrists gently to pull him up to sit.
The man held his breath when he picked the babe up again and held him tightly, allowing the little thing to distract himself by playing with the neckline of Severus’ shirt as he made his way to the kitchen. The black beady eyes instantly went to the clock on the wall to see just how much sleep he had gotten and, to his misfortune, he saw it was only half past eight, which meant he had slept around two hours. He probably would’ve slept more if not for the squirming little thing in his arm, wanting to get down to his high chair.
Teddy already knew that kitchen meant being fed, and being fed was one of the things he enjoyed the most in his entire little life. Remus liked to put the food in front of Teddy and let the babe feed himself, usually making a mess and getting pieces of banana stuck even to his hair, Severus refused to let Teddy feed himself since he considered it a nuisance to have to bathe the boy every time he ate. So, he usually was the one on feeding duty, smashing the bananas on a little plate and coming back to the chair in front of the babe, starting to give him the small spoonfuls, waiting until Teddy would open his mouth again to signal he wanted more.
After a few, Severus looked at the clock again, lowering the spoon to raise his hand and sign idly to Teddy:
“I think we should wake up your dad,” The babe stared at him but didn’t seem phased, his interest going back to the plate of bananas in front of him before reaching out to Severus’ hand with a grunt, tapping the man’s hand a few times. Clearly, Teddy knew what he wanted.
When they were finally done with the plate, Severus made sure to clean under Teddy’s chin and his chubby hands, leaving the towel with the plate as he got up to his feet and picked up the babe once more, a soundless huff coming out of him as he adjusted the boy on his hip. Severus looked back at Teddy, who seemed delighted by that, since the squeal he let out was accompanied by a few claps, and Severus couldn’t hide the small smile that made its way to his lips. The man could only wonder when he had gone so soft and domestic that a baby would be the cause for one of his rare smiles.
The man lazily made his way along the corridor back to their room, a yawn coming out before he stopped outside the bedroom, pushing the door open with his left shoulder. The door had been made lighter, like the other ones in the house for both his benefit and Remus’, who laid on the bed pretty much in the same manner as when Severus had left him.
Severus stared at Remus’ pale face. Even in sleep he seemed tense, the shadows under his eyes being exacerbated by the hours spent transforming into a wolf and back again. Severus knew how much it hurt by how much Remus seemed to complain about his joints hurting in the days that preceded, and followed, the full moon. That was why the man had a regimen of potions that, so far, they seemed to manage very well.
The babe in his arm squealed when he finally turned his head to the side and noticed his father, leaning in his direction with his arms extended, as if that would somehow get him closer to the man. Severus let out a huff of air, leaning back to try and keep Teddy from falling on the ground and ruining the quietness of the bedroom with his wailing again. He walked towards the bed, circling it back to his side and sitting down carefully before letting go of the babe on the mattress, who bounced once and quickly started to crawl towards Remus, his small, chubby hands going to his father’s chest when he kneeled beside the man’s arms. Teddy started to tap his right hand, babbling incohesive sounds trying to get his father’s attention.
When the continuous babble hadn’t worked, it seemed, the small boy let out such a shrill squeal that Severus had to turn his head the other side, twisting his nose and closing his eyes at the noise that seemed to pierce into his skull. Teddy wasn’t even a difficult baby, it was just that whoever was looking after him needed to accompany the never ending energy he appeared to have.
And his methods of getting attention had yet to prove themselves impractical, since Remus woke up with a start, blinking blearily at the ceiling before his eyes finally focused on the baby at his side. Teddy was giving him the biggest gummy smile, two of his bottom teeth only starting to peek out, and clapping, as if getting his father to wake up was the biggest accomplishment. The man, however, still muddled with sleep, only hummed and closed his eyes again, lifting his hand to gently caress Teddy’s black curls.
”Good morning, Teds.” He croaked, voice hoarse from both sleep and screaming all night. His eyes opened once more, moving to the figure sitting at the edge of the bed behind the babe, and his lips moved to show a small smile.
”Good morning,” Severus signed to him, and it took him a few second to make sense of what the movements meant before replying, blaming the lingering fog over his thoughts on the moon.
”Good morning,” Remus said again, sighing and closing his eyes once more. Severus leaned in, tapping the man’s arm to get his attention.
”You need to take your potions. Now.” He signed, hand leaving no room for argument even as Remus groaned.
”Do I have to?” He still tried, passing a hand over his face before turning back to the other man and trying to make an argument for his case. “I’m sure if i slept long enough I wouldn’t need them.”
“Yes, you need your potions.” Severus signed, matter of factly.
The man got up then, walking towards the cabinet in their room to get the four flasks of different colours. As he’s adjusting his left hand’s grip around one of the potions, he hears the grunt that meant Remus was pushing himself into sitting, a louder noise echoing when he all but fell against the headboard, making Severus shake his head before focusing on getting the other three potions with his right hand. He turned just in time to take in the sight of Teddy supporting himself against Remus’ should to stand up on wobbly legs, a huge smile taking over his face right before he fell back on his ass and made a confused noise.
“Oh, no!” Remus cooed in his direction, watching as Teddy placed his small hands on his thighs to stand up again. The older man moved his hand to support the babe’s torso, keeping him upright for a few seconds before Severus stopped at his bedside.
The man placed the three potions on the nightstand and took the one left from his other hand’s weak grip, uncorking it with his mouth. Severus extended the vial to Remus, waiting for him to pick it up even if Remus twisted his nose in disgust. When Remus brought it to his nose, he made a gagging noise and turned his head to the other side while Severus took the cork from his mouth and placed it on the nightstand.
”It smells like death,” Remus murmured, and Severus leveled him a glare.
”You need it,” He managed to croak, the sound coming out low and more like a rasp of air leaving his mouth than actual words.
But Remus took it, holding his breath and downing the muscle relaxer in one huge gulp. The same process followed when he took the anticonvulsant, the pain potion and the one they’d made to accelerate his healing after the full moon. With every potion, Remus would make an exaggerated face, getting the babe sitting by his side to giggle but having to extend his neck so he wouldn’t grab the vials and spill everything on their bed.
”You’re evil,” Remus shuddered, smacking his mouth repeatedly to try to get rid of the lingering aftertaste.
Severus just rolled his eyes at his antics, having grown used to them at that point and moving on with their routine by discarding the empty vials in the little bin by the door. Meanwhile, Remus laid back on his pillow, a small wince being heard as he scooched down on the bed, his foot getting caught on the bedsheets and making his knee bend awkwardly, although he didn’t notice, focused on entertaining the baby by his side.
”Isn’t he evil, Teddy?” He asked the babe, who answered him with a very pointed sequence of noises. “Very good point.”
The man had replied softly, almost in a whisper to pretend it was a secret between him and his son, and Severus could avoid the small smirk that appeared on his lips then, shaking his head before turning around again to get back to bed. Before circling to his side, he leaned down at the foot of the bed and took Remus’ ankle, tugging it gently to straighten his leg on the mattress. Only then did he finish going to his side, flopping down on his belly and watching Teddy fall on his ass once more and turn around to stare at Severus with those big brown eyes of his, chewing on his chubby hand and making a mess of drool down his chin.
Severus made a disgusted face, half hidden by his pillow, bu kept watching the babe try to crawl in his direction and quickly giving up, imitating the other man by also laying down on his front, butt up in the air as he shoved his sticky hand in his mouth again to start chewing on his fingers. Teddy’s hair and eyes slowly became black like those of the man he was watching, and Severus couldn’t avoid the small huff of air that came out of his nose in amusement. Remus only smiled at the scene, left hand shooting out over himself to caress the babe’s back in slow motions and, after a few seconds, Severus turned on his side to free his right hand, lifting it up in the air.
”I think he’s teething again.” He signed, watching Remus frown softly.
”I don’t know what this means,” Remus replied out loud, copying the sign.
Severus then spelled “teeth”, having had to learn the one-handed Irish alphabet after the first few weeks in St. Mungos, which had been an adjustment, considering he only had known the British Alphabet all his life.
That had also been where he and Remus had met again, completely by accident when they had been placed in the same recovery room after the Battle of Hogwarts. Nagini’s attack had left Severus with vocal cord damage and partial paralysis in his left arm, but the scars and slight disfigurement in his face could be quickly ignored when the man had put in an ordered list of what had affected him the most. Remus, however, had been paralysed from the waist down while fighting Dolohov and, for the first few hours he’d been declared dead since his breathing was so shallow, laying beside his dead wife until someone had come close enough to realise he was in fact alive.
After so long together in the same vicinity, Remus had started to pick up sign language from Severus, who’d known it since he was a child from having a Deaf mother. It did not make Remus an expert, however, and the man finally understood what Severus meant, cooing the baby between them.
”Are your teeth coming out, Teddy?” He asked the babe gently.
Teddy turned his head at the sound of his dad’s voice, still chewing on his fist and staring intently with his big doll eyes. The man had no other choice but to sigh softly and raise a hand to try to inspect closer, removing Teddy’s hand from his mouth to try to pry it open. The babe, ever opinionated, wasn’t happy about the invasion and was sure to show both men his thoughts by letting out a little scream and quickly turning his head away from his father’s touch before shaking it fervently against the bedsheets.
”Oh, you little rascal. Let daddy see your teeth.” Remus tried once more, only to be met with the same shrill squeak and have Teddy scampering off in a mess of fat little limbs to get closer to Severus, hiding his face on the man’s shoulder.
The man’s stern face twisted into a soft and small smile as he places his right arm around Teddy for a few seconds, letting go just to turn on the bed and lay on his back, pulling his left arm from beneath him and adjusting against his pillows. Meanwhile, Teddy happily climbed and mounted on Severus’ stomach, making the man let out a pained huff when the boy jumped.
“I swear, I think he likes you more than he likes me,” Remus said, watching the scene. Severus only stared at him with a sarcastic frown, as if saying ‘Not even you believe that’.
His left hand, now thinner from disuse, raised just enough to be placed on Teddy’s side for support as Severus moved to be closer to Remus, letting out another breath of air when Teddy jumped once more.
“Teddy, no.” Remus admonished the babe, watching him intently even as he placed his sticky fist back in his mouth, the adorable sucking noises being his answer to his father’s words. His hair changed colours again, shifting to the same brown Remus had while leaning forward and lying down on Severus’ chest. Remus laughed at that before smacking his tongue. “You do know how to tug on our heartstrings, don’t you?”
Severus had a lopsided smirk watching the one sided exchange, both hands on Teddy’s sides and trying to watch the babe’s reaction. His beady eyes, though, quickly lifted towards Remus when the man yawned loud and long, waiting until his eyes were open once more and looking at him before signing above Teddy’s small body.
”Go to sleep.”
”Think he’ll sleep too?” He asked in return, raising his eyebrows. His torso continued slightly twisted so he could leave his hand on Teddy’s back, patting his bottom softly in a soothing rhythm, the sound of his nappy under his clothes echoing with each light tap.
Severus seemed to think about it, right hand going to the babe’s upper back and moving up and down, light and tenderly.
“I think so,” He croaked in his whispery manner.
Remus kept his attention tracked on the boy’s, now black, eyes. Teddy stared at him intently, but just as fast as his emotions, his lids started to weigh heavily, and Remus soon started to do the same. The man had a bone deep tiredness after the night he’d spent in their backyard shed, and he dozed off before the baby, waking up just enough with a small start to continue the soft patting on his son’s bottom.
Watching the whole scene play out in his silence, Severus shook his head in amusement. In his mind, however, he could only think once more: When had he become so soft and domestic?